Officials believe the impending April closure of a Kmart store on Washtenaw Avenue could severely impact the corridor that stretches through several communities.

"We knew it was coming, but we didn't know when," said Ypsilanti Township Planner Joe Lawson. "It impacts that corridor rather severely."

The Kmart at 3100 Washtenaw will close by the end of April, said company spokesman Howard Riefs.

The building, owned by Kmart, appears to be listed for lease through the Mid-America Real Estate Group.

Tony Schmit, a Mid-America Real Estate Group representative, could not be reached for comment.

Chris Brathwaite, Sears Holdings spokesman, said no details were available in regard to whether the building has been purchased or leased.

The closure will leave a 98,000-square-foot retail vacancy at Washtenaw and Golfside, in the same shopping center as the former Farmer Jack store.

That 57,600-square-foot building at 3020 Washtenaw, vacant since 2007, is listed for sale for $3,999,000. The owner owes $119,681.57 in delinquent taxes, according to Washtenaw County Treasurer records.

"This is going to affect Pittsfield Township next door as well," Lawson said. "This is the entrance to the township coming and going. It's a key piece of property."

The former Farmer Jack and Kmart locations are not the only locations in need of development on the corner of Golfside and Washtenaw. On the opposite side, the land where the former Ypsi-Arbor Lanes sat at 2985 Washtenaw Ave., remains vacant.

The building was demolished last year.

The land is owned by Frankel Associates, based in Troy, and registered to Samuel Frankel. The 38,000-square-foot Washtenaw Avenue alley closed after 40 years in business in May 2011.

Township records show the property has an assessed value of $433,100.

At one point an unnamed national retailer considered purchasing the property, but eventually chose a different site. The property is also next door to a former Dairy Mart that was redeveloped into a Happy’s Pizza.

Lawson said as far as he knows, no strong leads for potential development have come forward.

A number of apartment complexes are located near the Kmart, including the McKinley-owned Aspen Chase Apartments off of Golfside directly behind the store. Lawson said although the Kmart didn't operate as a full-service grocery store, the closure could slightly impact those residents who depend on it for some everyday essentials.

"I think it's going to make an impact because there's nothing else that serves that market," Lawson said. "It's unfortunate in that aspect that Kmart is leaving."

McKinley CEO Albert Berriz said his company just began a $2.5 million project to renovate the entire Aspen Chase community. Berriz said the investment is a sign of his confidence in the area despite the closure.

Berriz believes it would be better if the property was purchased by a new developer instead of being leased.

The assessed value of the Kmart location is $1,158,300, making its market rate nearly double. Kmart paid $51,807.31 in taxes last August, but still owes $19,895.36 in winter taxes.

The former Farmer Jack building at 3020 Washtenaw Ave. has been vacant since 2007. Courtney Sacco | The Ann Arbor News

"The property has a lot of viability and it can be redeveloped," he said. "It needs to be neighborhood support retail. ... It's a corner sort of screaming for redevelopment."

Berriz said at one point, McKinley was interested in redeveloping where the Kmart is, but a deal never materialized.

"We tried for years to work on it," he said. "It's been a very complicated property for years."

Berriz said he's no longer interested in taking the project on, but he's hopeful it will be redeveloped eventually. McKinley owns 5,000 apartments within the vicinity of the Kmart and has invested nearly $500 million in them.

Berriz says it would not only be beneficial to McKinley, but the entire community, for both corners to be redeveloped.

"We would love to see these two corners upgraded in terms of retail, they're just in the wrong hands," he said.

Lawson said the township had spoken to Kmart representatives about three years ago when the company was considering splitting the building in half and potentially selling the other half to a different company.

Lawson said he wouldn't be surprised if Kmart was receiving interest from developers who were only interested in a portion of the land or building.

"That is a large amount of square footage for one retailer," Lawson said.

Yet, officials see the closure as an opportunity to usher in a new vision for the Washtenaw Avenue corridor through the ReImagine Washtenaw effort. The effort focuses on creating walkable shopping options, better housing choices, efficient transit service, public spaces and access to employment centers.

The project is a partnership between Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, Pittsfield Township, the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, the Michigan Department of Transportation and Washtenaw County.

The former Ypsi-Arbor LanesFile photo

"I think in the short term it’s a blow to the area in terms of job loss and another vacant building we don’t need," said Nathan Voght, ReImagine Washtenaw project manager. "On the other hand, we can look at it as an opportunity to work with a future tenant or developer who might want to really redevelop that corner. We’ve looked at that corner with the township with some of the studies we’ve been undertaking and we have some conceptual ideas for how that corner could develop."

Voght said the vision is to create development that is dense and mixed-use and encourages walkability. Voght believes this corner has a high potential to be redeveloped.

"(It would be) going from very suburban, auto-orientated development to development that actually adds value," he said.

Voght said across the country, communities have done a poor job of creating development that is attractive, inviting and creates a sense of community and sense of place.

"Why are people going downtown and abandoning strip malls?" he said. "It's because downtown offers an experience."

Lawson said the Kmart location has about 300 parking spots in the front and Voght said that's the type of development the ReImagine initiative discourages.

"It's essentially flip flopping on what you see out there today," Voght said. "What you see is a sea of parking and a building that's hundreds of feet back from the street."

Voght said the project encourages buildings closer to the sidewalk, with parking on the side or the rear.

"This sort of development is really just strategically planned for these strategic areas," Voght said.

Lawson said the property is zoned general commercial, so any retail or service focused business could go into the Kmart building.

Katrease Stafford covers Ypsilanti for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at KatreaseStafford@mlive.com or 734-623-2548 and follow her on Twitter.